Malaysian immigration department rescued 65 Bangladeshis, believed to be victims of human trafficking, in Bandar Baru Nilai of Negri Sembilan on Wednesday.
All the victims were found at the dormitory of a migrant worker supplying company, said its director-general Mustafar Ali.
Quoted by Bernama, Malaysian government’s official news agency, Mr Ali said, “Preliminary investigations found that these workers are likely to be manipulated by the company. They have not been paid their salary for three to five months, but instead, are given loans between RM300 and RM500”
He said the department detained two members of the company’s board of directors, both aged 51, to facilitate the investigations.
The department seized 377 passports, mainly Bangladeshi, 61 types of documents related to the case such as contracts, payment vouchers and records pertaining to the company’s dealings with the home ministry.
Mr Ali said the investigations, meanwhile, found that the company had falsified the home ministry’s approval letter over the foreign worker quota, apart from submitting false information to obtain visit passes (temporary employment).
He added the case was being investigated under the Immigration Act 1959/63, the Passport Act 1966 and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007.
